U.S. patent application number 14/250174 was filed with the patent office on 2015-03-12 for vendor contribution assessment.
The applicant listed for this patent is Alliance Enterprises Inc.. Invention is credited to Kelly Boston, Darcy E. Fleming, Lisa C. Gifford, Chris M. Pieper, Maitri Ray, Peter Benjamin Bolton Turney.
Application Number | 20150073876 14/250174 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47881512 |
Filed Date | 2015-03-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150073876 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pieper; Chris M. ; et
al. |
March 12, 2015 |
VENDOR CONTRIBUTION ASSESSMENT
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a computer implemented method and
component configured to assess the value of goods and services
provided by a vendor to a service agency. An embodiment of the
method includes the act of storing, in an electronic database, a
total-budget value, an amount-paid value, a case-score value, a
total-case-score value, a vendor-service-score value, and a
total-vendor-services-score value. The embodiment includes
selecting a vendor, forming a vendor-score-contribution value,
distributing the case value of one or more service items provided
by the vendor, and computing the net contribution of the
vendor.
Inventors: |
Pieper; Chris M.; (Gig
Harbor, WA) ; Gifford; Lisa C.; (Olympia, WA)
; Fleming; Darcy E.; (Tacoma, WA) ; Boston;
Kelly; (Olympia, WA) ; Turney; Peter Benjamin
Bolton; (Portland, OR) ; Ray; Maitri;
(Allentown, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Alliance Enterprises Inc. |
Lacey |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
47881512 |
Appl. No.: |
14/250174 |
Filed: |
April 10, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13615234 |
Sep 13, 2012 |
8725555 |
|
|
14250174 |
|
|
|
|
61536413 |
Sep 19, 2011 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0281 20130101;
G06Q 10/06393 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.39 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20060101
G06Q010/06 |
Claims
1. A computer implemented method of assessing vendor performance,
comprising: storing in a first memory a value representing a total
amount of money associated with a plurality of vendors for
provision of a plurality of service items, provision of at least
one service item associated with each vendor of the plurality of
vendors; storing in the first memory for each vendor of the
plurality of vendors a budget allocation amount per vendor value
representing a ratio of a perceived benefit to a total perceived
benefit with respect to the value representing the total amount of
money associated with the plurality of vendors; storing in the
first memory for each vendor of the plurality of vendors a
distributed case score value representing a ratio of a planned
benefit provided by each vendor to a total planned benefit provided
by the plurality of benefits; executing instructions with a
computing device, the instructions stored in a second memory, the
execution of the instructions arranged to calculate for each vendor
of the plurality of vendors a vendor contribution value, the vendor
contribution value calculated by mathematically combining a first
value representing an amount of money associated with the
respective vendor for the provision of the at least one service
item associated with the vendor and the distributed case score
value associated with the same respective vendor; and outputting a
report, the report reflecting the calculated vendor contribution
value of at least one vendor of the plurality of vendors.
2. The computer implemented method according to claim 1,
comprising: storing in the first memory for each vendor of the
plurality of vendors the perceived benefit of each service item of
the at least one service item provided by the respective
vendor.
3. The computer implemented method according to claim 2 wherein the
storing of the perceived benefit of each service item provided by
each vendor occurs over a plurality of days.
4. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein the
perceived benefit of each service item provided by each vendor is a
subjective value associated with a client who received the
respective service item.
5. The computer implemented method according to claim 4 wherein the
subjective value associated with the client is a measure of client
satisfaction.
6. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein the
total amount of money associated with the plurality of vendors for
provision of the plurality of service items is a budgeted amount of
money.
7. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein the
provision of the plurality of service items includes delivery of
physical therapy services.
8. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein the
provision of the plurality of service items includes delivery of
physical therapy devices.
9. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein the
provision of the plurality of service items includes delivery of
employment counseling services.
10. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 wherein
outputting the report includes at least one of electronically
displaying the report, printing the report, and electronically
transferring the report over a communication network.
11. The computer implemented method according to claim 1, further
comprising: selecting a first vendor of the plurality of vendors;
selecting a second vendor of the plurality of vendors; comparing a
first vendor-score-contribution value associated with the first
vendor to a second vendor-score-contribution value associated with
the second vendor; sorting the first and second vendors according
to the first and second vendor-score-contribution values; and
forming the report to reflect the sorted first and second
vendors.
12. A computing system, comprising: a processing unit, a memory,
and an input/output port configured in hardware and software as
several modules, said modules including: a data collection module
configured to: store in the memory a value representing a total
amount of money associated with a plurality of vendors for the
provision of a plurality of service items, the provision of at
least one service item associated with each vendor of the plurality
of vendors; and store in the memory for each vendor of the
plurality of vendors a budget allocation amount per vendor value
representing a ratio of a perceived benefit to a total perceived
benefit with respect to the value representing the total amount of
money associated with the plurality of vendors; a vendor value
calculation module configured to: store in the memory for each
vendor of the plurality of vendors a distributed case score value
representing a ratio of a planned benefit provided by each vendor
to a total planned benefit provided by the plurality of benefits;
and execute instructions with the processing unit, the instructions
stored in the memory, the execution of the instructions arranged to
calculate for each vendor of the plurality of vendors a vendor
contribution value, the vendor contribution value calculated by
mathematically combining a first value representing an amount of
money associated with the respective vendor for the provision of
the at least one service item associated with the vendor and the
distributed case score value associated with the same respective
vendor; and an output module configured to: output a report, the
report reflecting the calculated vendor contribution value of at
least one vendor of the plurality of vendors.
13. The computing system according to claim 12, further comprising:
a comparison module configured to: select a first vendor of the
plurality of vendors; select a second vendor of the plurality of
vendors; and compare a first vendor-score-contribution value
associated with the first vendor to a second
vendor-score-contribution value associated with the second
vendor.
14. The computing system according to claim 12 wherein each
vendor-score-contribution value is a calculated measure of quality
of the at least one service item provided by each respective
vendor.
15. The computing system according to claim 12 wherein the act of
outputting the report includes at least one of electronically
displaying the report, printing the report, and electronically
transferring the report over a communication network.
16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium whose stored
contents configure a computing system to perform a method, the
method comprising: receiving a value representing a total amount of
money associated with a plurality of vendors for the provision of a
plurality of service items, the provision of at least one service
item associated with each vendor of the plurality of vendors;
receiving for each vendor a perceived benefit for each of the at
least one service items associated with each vendor respectively;
calculating for each vendor of the plurality of vendors a budget
allocation amount representing a ratio of the perceived benefit to
a total perceived benefit with respect to the value representing
the total amount of money associated with the plurality of vendors;
calculating for each vendor of the plurality of vendors a
distributed case score value representing a ratio of a planned
benefit provided by each vendor to a total planned benefit provided
by the plurality of benefits; calculating for each vendor of the
plurality of vendors a vendor contribution value by mathematically
combining a first value representing an amount of money associated
with the respective vendor for the provision of the at least one
service item associated with the vendor and the distributed case
score value associated with the same respective vendor; and
outputting a report, the report reflecting the calculated vendor
contribution value of at least one vendor of the plurality of
vendors.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according
to claim 16 whose stored contents configure the computing system to
perform the method, the method comprising: sorting the plurality of
vendors according to the calculated vendor contribution value for
each vendor; and forming the report to reflect the sorted plurality
of vendors.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according
to claim 16 wherein the perceived benefit for each of the at least
one service items associated with each vendor respectively is a
subjective measure of quality of the provision of the respective at
least one service items.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according
to claim 16 wherein the plurality of service items include
vocational rehabilitation services.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according
to claim 16 wherein the computing system to perform the method is
administered by a vocational rehabilitation agency.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE(S) TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 13/615,234, filed Sep. 13, 2012, which
claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
61/536,413 filed Sep. 19, 2011, both of which are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The following disclosure relates generally to techniques for
providing information related to the assessment of a vendor's
contribution to a large service agency and more particularly
computing devices and methods to generate such information.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Computing devices generate and store information in physical
memory. The information is typically stored as a set of digital
data files. In a large service agency, such as a public office of
motor vehicles or a large home building corporation, computing
devices are used to store information data files related to vendors
that provide goods and services to the large service agency. The
data files may include any type of information related to the
vendor. For example, the files may include names, telephone
numbers, addresses, types of goods and services provided, prices,
subjective notes related to past performance or future
expectations, schedules, photographs, sound files, and any other
information that a user of the computing device enters or that the
computing device generates. In fact, the files stored by a
computing device can represent nearly any conceivable type of
information related to a vendor.
[0006] In some cases, multiple files contain information related to
one vendor. For example, one file may have many telephone numbers,
including the telephone numbers of a particular vendor. A different
file may have many photographs, at least some of which are related
to the same particular vendor. Still other files may store
accounting information wherein at least some of the file entries of
accounting information relate to the particular vendor.
[0007] Generally speaking, the volume of information related to a
large service agency is stored in many computer files on one or
more computing devices. The information may be stored in discrete
files or the information may be consolidated in one or more
computing databases. One common feature of the files, computing
devices, and information discussed herein is that the information
is too voluminous to reasonably be generated, maintained, and used
without a computing device.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0008] A service agency provides outbound goods, services, or both
goods and services to clients (i.e., customers or consumers of the
goods or services of the service agency). The service agency may
take in money and spend money in order to provide the outbound
goods and services. The money that is taken in may be provided by
clients, governments, or some other source. The money that is spent
may be spent on inbound goods and services provided by vendors. For
example, the inbound goods and services that are provided by
vendors may include training, employment services, hospitialization
and care, rehabilitation, personal care, transistion services,
personnel, real-estate, utilities, advertising, counseling (e.g.,
career counseling hours), multimedia, office supplies, food,
clothing, medical products (e.g., prosthetic limbs, physical
therapy devices, ergonomic devices), and many other things.
[0009] The service agency desires to know the quality of its
outbound goods and services. The quality of outbound goods and
services may include a ratio of money received to money spent, a
time duration that a certain client spends using the outbound goods
and services, and a measure of satisfaction of clients that have
used the outbound goods and services. A determination of quality
can be improved if the contribution of individual vendors can be
accurately assessed.
[0010] The contribution of individual vendors can be assessed by
tracking the input and the application of the vendor's goods and
services within the service agency. Particular algorithms, as
discussed herein, may be used track and quantify the contribution
of any particular vendor. An output of the algorithms may be used
as one or more measurements that permit comparison of one vendor
against another vendor. The output may also be used as a
measurement of the efficacy of the service agency as a whole.
[0011] A computer-implemented method and component of vendor
contribution assessment is taught. The method and component accept
input data related to vendors that provide goods and services to a
service agency. In various embodiments of the method and component,
the impact of the goods and services provided by vendors is
tracked, evaluated, and assessed, such that each vendor's
contribution to the success or failure of the agency is objectively
measured.
[0012] In one embodiment, a computer implemented method of
assessing vendor performance includes the act of storing a set of
data related to a service agency in an electronic database, the set
of data having a plurality of at least six datasets. The act of
storing in a first one of the datasets a total-budget value, the
total-budget value representative of a sum of money the agency has
paid for a plurality of service items provided by a plurality of
vendors in a plurality of cases wherein each of the plurality of
service items is substantially the same type of service item as the
other service items and wherein each vendor provides one or more
service items in each of one or more cases of the plurality of
cases assigned to the vendor is included, and the act of storing,
for each case assigned to each vendor, in a second one of the
datasets an amount-paid value, the amount-paid value representative
of the corresponding payment from the service agency is also
included. The embodiments includes storing, for each case assigned
to each vendor, in a third one of the datasets a case-score value,
a case-score value representing a value of the service items
provided by each vendor, storing in a fourth one of the datasets a
total-case-score value, the total-case-score value formed by
summing the case-score values stored in the third one of the
datasets, storing, for each case assigned to each vendor, in a
fifth one of the datasets a vendor-service-score value, the
vendor-service-score value corresponding to a certain relative
value added to the case via the provision of the one or more
service items of the plurality of service items provided by each
vendor in exchange for a corresponding payment from the service
agency, and storing in a sixth one of the datasets a
total-vendor-services-score value, the total-vendor-services-score
value formed by summing the vendor-services-score values stored in
the fifth one of the datasets. The embodiment further includes
selecting one vendor of the plurality of vendors; and forming a
vendor-score-contribution value, the vendor-score-contribution
value formed by distributing the total-budget value to the one or
more cases of the plurality of cases assigned to the one vendor to
form a case value, distributing the case value to the one or more
service items of the plurality of service items provided by the one
vendor, and computing the net contribution of the one vendor by
mathematically combining the distributed case value from the
amount-paid value corresponding to the one vendor.
[0013] An aspect of the computer implemented method further
includes forming the vendor-score-contribution value by generating
a budget-allocation value, the budget-allocation value generated by
multiplying the total-budget value by a quotient formed by summing
each case-score value related to the one vendor and dividing the
sum by the total-case-score value, generating a case-distribution
value, the case-distribution value generated by multiplying the
budget-allocation value by a quotient formed by summing each
vendor-service-score value related to the one vendor and dividing
the sum by the total-vendor-services-score value, and generating
the vendor-score-contribution value by subtracting the amount-paid
value from the case-distribution value.
[0014] Another aspect of the computer implemented method further
includes selecting a second vendor, forming a second
vendor-score-contribution value associated with the second vendor,
and comparing the vendor-score-contribution value associated with
the one vendor to the vendor-score-contribution value associated
with the second vendor.
[0015] One more aspect of the computer implemented method includes
iteratively selecting a plurality of vendors, forming a
vendor-score-contribution value associated with each of the
plurality of vendors, sorting the vendors according to the
vendor-score-contribution values of each of the plurality of
vendors, and outputting a report, the report reflecting the sorted
vendors.
[0016] Still another aspect of the computer implemented method
includes storing the case-score value by performing the acts of
selecting one vendor of the plurality of vendors, iteratively
selecting a representation of value provided to a client as a
result of the one vendor providing a service item to the client,
scaling the representation of value to place the representation of
value within a certain range, weighting the scaled representation
of value by multiplying the scaled representation of value by a
weighting factor, summing the weighted and scaled representation of
value of each iteration, and storing the summed, weighted, and
scaled representations of value in a case-score value memory.
[0017] And one more aspect of the computer implemented method
includes storing the vendor-service-score value by performing the
acts of selecting one vendor of the plurality of vendors, selecting
the amount-paid value corresponding to the one vendor, scaling the
amount-paid value to place the amount-paid value within a first
certain range, weighting the scaled the amount-paid value by
multiplying the scaled amount-paid value by a first weighting
factor, selecting a representation of value of the service item
provided to a client, scaling the representation of value to place
the representation of value within a second certain range,
weighting the scaled the representation of value by multiplying the
scaled the representation of value by a second weighting factor,
summing the weighted and scaled amount-paid value with the weighted
and scaled representation of value, and storing the sum in a
vendor-service-score value memory.
[0018] In another embodiment, a computing system includes a central
processing unit, a memory, and an input/output port configured in
hardware and software as several modules. The modules include a
modeling and initialization module configured to store a set of
data related to a service agency in an electronic database
configured in the memory, the set of data having a plurality of at
least six datasets, store in a first dataset a total-budget value,
the total-budget value representative of a sum of money the agency
has paid for a plurality of service items provided by a plurality
of vendors in a plurality of cases wherein each of the plurality of
service items is substantially the same type of service item as the
other service items and wherein each vendor provides one or more
service items in each of one or more cases of the plurality of
cases assigned to the vendor, store, for each case assigned to each
vendor, in a second one of the datasets an amount-paid value, the
amount-paid value representative of the corresponding payment from
the service agency, store, for each case assigned to each vendor,
in a third one of the datasets a case-score value, a case-score
value representing a value of the service items provided by each
vendor, and store in a fourth one of the datasets a
total-case-score value, the total-case-score value formed by
summing the case-score values stored in the third one of the
datasets. A vendor value data module is configured to store, for
each case assigned to each vendor, in a fifth one of the datasets a
vendor-service-score value, the vendor-service-score value
corresponding to a certain relative value added to the case via the
provision of the one or more service items of the plurality of
service items provided by each vendor in exchange for a
corresponding payment from the service agency, and store in a sixth
one of the datasets a total-vendor-services-score value, the
total-vendor-services-score value formed by summing the
vendor-services-score values stored in the fifth one of the
datasets. A vendor value contribution data module is configured to
select one vendor of the plurality of vendors and form a
vendor-score-contribution value. The vendor-score-contribution
value is formed by distributing the total-budget value to the one
or more cases of the plurality of cases assigned to the one vendor
to form a case value, distributing the case value to the one or
more service items of the plurality of service items provided by
the one vendor, and computing the net contribution of the one
vendor by mathematically combining the distributed case value from
the amount-paid value corresponding to the one vendor.
[0019] In still one more embodiment, a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium whose stored contents configure a
computing system to perform a method is disclosed. The method
includes storing a set of data related to a service agency in an
electronic database, the set of data having a plurality of at least
six datasets. The method includes the acts of storing in a first
one of the datasets a total-budget value, the total-budget value
representative of a sum of money the agency has paid for a
plurality of service items provided by a plurality of vendors in a
plurality of cases wherein each of the plurality of service items
is substantially the same type of service item as the other service
items and wherein each vendor provides one or more service items in
each of one or more cases of the plurality of cases assigned to the
vendor, storing, for each case assigned to each vendor, in a second
one of the datasets an amount-paid value, the amount-paid value
representative of the corresponding payment from the service
agency, storing, for each case assigned to each vendor, in a third
one of the datasets a case-score value, a case-score value
representing a value of the service items provided by each vendor,
and storing in a fourth one of the datasets a total-case-score
value, the total-case-score value formed by summing the case-score
values stored in the third one of the datasets. The method further
includes storing, for each case assigned to each vendor, in a fifth
one of the datasets a vendor-service-score value, the
vendor-service-score value corresponding to a certain relative
value added to the case via the provision of the one or more
service items of the plurality of service items provided by each
vendor in exchange for a corresponding payment from the service
agency, storing in a sixth one of the datasets a
total-vendor-services-score value, the total-vendor-services-score
value formed by summing the vendor-services-score values stored in
the fifth one of the datasets, selecting one vendor of the
plurality of vendors, and forming a vendor-score-contribution
value. The vendor-score-contribution value is formed by
distributing the total-budget value to the one or more cases of the
plurality of cases assigned to the one vendor to form a case value,
distributing the case value to the one or more service items of the
plurality of service items provided by the one vendor, and
computing the net contribution of the one vendor by mathematically
combining the distributed case value from the amount-paid value
corresponding to the one vendor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described
with reference to the following drawings, wherein like labels and
reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the
several views unless otherwise specified. The sizes and relative
positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to
scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are
not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are enlarged and
positioned to improve drawing legibility in some cases. One or more
embodiments are described hereinafter with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system configured in a large vocational
rehabilitation service agency.
[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates in more detail an embodiment of the
computing device of the VCA system of FIG. 1.
[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an
embodiment of a VCA application.
[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a set of data structures that may be used
with a VCA application configured in a vocational rehabilitation
(VR) service agency environment.
[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a data flow used in a modeling and
initialization module embodiment to produce a case score.
[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates a data flow used in a vendor value data
module to produce a vendor score.
[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates a data flow used in vendor value
contribution data (VVCD) module embodiment to produce a vendor
value contribution score.
[0028] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system according to one embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system according to one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] In the following description, certain specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various
disclosed embodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art
will recognize that embodiments may be practiced without one or
more of these specific details, or with other methods, components,
materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures
associated with computing systems including client and server
computing systems, as well as networks have not been shown or
described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions
of the embodiments.
[0031] A service agency typically fulfills a core function, which
may include the provision of certain goods or services to clients.
A service agency often has a particular specialty, and the service
agency may be the only provider of its goods or services in a known
geographic area. The service agency may be structured to earn a
profit, or the service agency may be structured as a non-profit
organized to provide goods and services to clients at a low cost or
no cost to the client. Non-limiting examples of service agencies
include the Washington State Department of Vocational
Rehabilitation, an aircraft manufacturing company, and a golf
course.
[0032] A vendor is a seller, trader, salesperson, merchant,
supplier, or other entity that promotes or exchanges goods or
services for money. A vendor may be a person, a group of people, a
business organization, or another type of entity. Non-limiting
examples of vendors include producers of job training videos,
technical publication writers, caterers, janitors, office supply
stores, and the like. Vendors provide to a service agency inbound
goods and services, which are generally used by the agency to carry
out its core function.
[0033] For many reasons, the service agency may desire to know the
quality of its outbound the goods and services. For example, if the
service agency is a non-profit or government agency, the agency may
want to show to taxpayers or donors that the money it receives is
being used to effectively and efficiently provide helpful services.
If the service agency is a business, the service agency may want to
provide detailed information to investors so as to justify the
decisions made by the business's leaders. In these or in other
cases, the service agency may have a simple desire to improve the
quality of goods or services it provides.
[0034] One way that a service agency can improve the quality of its
outbound goods or services is by using inbound goods and services
more effectively and more cost efficiently. Inbound goods and
services, which are provided by vendors, can be used more
effectively and more cost efficiently if the contribution of
individual vendors can be accurately assessed. Stated differently,
a service agency can improve its quality if it determines the value
contribution of individual vendors that provide goods and services.
The value contribution of individual vendors may be derived by
comparing the benefit received by a client for goods and services
to the cost spent by the agency to deliver the benefit.
[0035] Service agencies may use the vendor contribution assessment
method and component described herein to assess individual vendors.
That is, the VCA system permits a service agency to input data
related to individual vendors and generate a "score" for each
individual vendor. The generated score for each vendor may be used
by the service agency to compare vendors against each other. Thus,
the service agency can improve the quality of its outbound goods or
services by monitoring the vendor scores and making decisions in
light of vendor scores.
[0036] As discussed herein, a vocational rehabilitation (VR)
service agency implements an exemplary embodiment of a vendor
contribution assessment (VCA) system. Nevertheless, one of ordinary
skill in the art will recognize that particular details discussed
with respect to the VR service agency may also be applied to other
service agencies.
[0037] A core function of a VR agency is to develop employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. Many VR agencies pay
millions of dollars annually to a network of vendors to deliver
inbound goods and services in support of the agency's core
function. Due to complex factors that impact vocational
rehabilitation, an objective quantification of vendor performance
has heretofore been inconsistent and subjective. As discussed in
the exemplary embodiment of a VCA system, however, vendor
performance may be quantified, and the transparency of vendor
performance can be used to improve overall agency results.
[0038] A VCA system embodiment includes a modeling and validation
process, which includes certain calculations to determine Vendor
Value scores and Vendor Value Contribution scores. The VCA system
embodiment includes a multi-dimensional vendor performance database
and a computing system. The data storage and calculation provide a
system wherein vendor performance can be quantified.
[0039] Using the quantified performance data, one or more vendors
may be compared to each other. Comparing vendors in the same
service category can provide an apples-to-apples comparison of one
vendor to another vendor, and in some cases, even comparing vendors
in different categories can produce useful information. For
example, when underperforming or over-performing vendors are
identified, the agency can make corresponding changes. In fact, the
agency can use a variety of VCA results to identify focus areas and
improve client outcomes. In this way, the VCA may provide
transparency and accountability of vendor performance, which the
agency can use to improve its overall performance.
[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system 10 configured in a large vocational
rehabilitation service agency. At the center of the VCA system 10,
a computing device 100 operates. Computing device 100, which
optionally includes a keyboard, mouse, electronic display devices,
and other input/output devices, may be any type of computing server
or other device particularly configured to perform calculations on
large volumes of data.
[0041] Computing device 100 may receive input data from one or more
people 12 including clients, agency employees, or other people.
Computing device 100 may further receive input data from a database
system 14 (e.g., a SQL database) or any other outside computing
resources such as a laptop or other conventional computer 16, a
mobile device 18, or some other computing system 20. Computing
device 100 operates on the input data to produce vendor
contribution assessment data and outputs some or all of the data to
the database system 14, other computing resources 16, 18, 20, and
people 12. In some cases, the data is presented by way of certain
reports 22, which yield information 24 that may be used in pursuit
of a core function of the VR service agency.
[0042] Although computing device 100 is illustrated as a single
device, it is understood that computing device 100 may include a
network of cooperating computing devices. In fact, the VCA system
10 may generally operate within a network 26 wherein other
computing devices such as database system 14, and other computing
resources 16, 18, 20 cooperatively communicate. The devices may
communicate with each other and with computing device 100 via any
suitable combination of a wide area network (WAN) such as the
Internet, a local area network (LAN), a personal area network
(PAN), or any other suitable network structure.
[0043] FIG. 2 illustrates in more detail an embodiment of the
computing device 100 of the VCA system 10 of FIG. 1. Computing
device 100 has operative electronic circuitry including a central
processing unit 102 (CPU), multiple input/output (I/O) ports 104,
volatile memory 106 (e.g. RAM), and non-volatile memory 108 (e.g.
ROM). Within the ROM 108, several software programs are resident
including an operating system 110 and a vendor contribution
assessment application 112.
[0044] The CPU 108 of the computing device 100 retrieves and
executes instructions from ROM 108 and/or RAM 106. The operating
system 110 includes application and driver software that permits
additional application software and system administrators to
control the operation of the computing device 100. For example,
particular applications and drivers are used to accept data input
and to provide system output through I/O ports 104. That is,
keypads, computer mice, memory cards, serial ports, bio-sensor
readers, touch screens, network interfaces, and the like are all
useful to a programmer, system administrator, or other computing
device operator to provide control information into the computing
device 100. Displays, printers, memory cards, LED indicators,
speakers, network interfaces, and the like are all useful to
present output information to the computing device 100
operator.
[0045] In addition to application and driver software within the
operating system 110, operating system 110 hosts a vendor
contribution assessment (VCA) application 112. In one embodiment,
the VCA application 112 is capable of processing data and providing
information related to the contribution of goods and services of
one or more vendors to a core function of a large service agency.
The data may be processed and the information rendered for
presentation on a local display, on a display coupled through a
network (e.g., the Internet), on a mobile device, or on another
electronic or non-electronic medium (e.g., printed reports).
[0046] The VCA application 112 may be implemented as a collection
of one or more software programs capable of communicating with
other computing devices. For example, conventional transmission
control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), file transfer protocol
(FTP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and the like are useful to
permit data such as web pages, database function calls, scripts,
and other electronic data to be served to outside computing
resources, and further are useful to permit users of the outside
computing resources to input data into the computing device 100.
That is, the operating system 110 and VCA application 112 may be
bi-directionally coupled to outside computing resources 14, 16, 18,
20, via directly connected input devices, local area network (LAN)
connections, wide area network (WAN) connections, personal area
network connections (PAN), or any other wired or wireless
network-capable device connection of network 26.
[0047] In some embodiments, the VCA application 112 is stored as
one or more files on computer-readable media (CRM). The CRM is
non-transitory, and configured to store computing instructions
executable by a CPU. Each file may include one or more computer
programs or may be part of a larger computer program. Alternatively
or in addition, each file may include data or other computational
support material for the VCA application 112. The VCA application
112 typically executes a set of instructions stored on
computer-readable media.
[0048] In other embodiments, the VCA application 112 exists as an
entire computing system having a central processing unit 102,
memory 106, 108, and an input/output port 104 configured in
hardware and software as several modules. The modules of the VCA
application 112 embodiment may include hardware (e.g., a CPU,
memory, I/O ports, etc.), software, or computing devices having
both hardware and software configured to carry out the operations
of the module. In some cases, the modules share hardware and
software, and in other cases, the modules use dedicated hardware,
dedicated software, or some combination.
[0049] FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified flow diagram of an
embodiment of the VCA application 112. With respect to FIG. 3,
certain details of individual modules are described at a high level
to illustrate the basic tasks and cooperative relationships of the
modules. Subsequent figures and the discussion corresponding to the
subsequent figures provide additional detail related to the
individual modules of VCA application 112.
[0050] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the VCA application 112 implements
a quantitative analytical model that calculates a value for each
vendor's contribution to an individual client's rehabilitation. In
the VCA application 112, a modeling and initialization module 114
creates various data structures and populates the data structures
with default data. Initialization processing identifies parameters
that are specific to individual client cases and parameters that
are generally specific to multiple clients. In the course of
performing an assessment of a specific vendor, the VCA application
will use the modeling and initialization module 114 to mine a
database of the service agency to find cases that meet certain
criteria. The criteria may include cases where the specific vendor
has provided certain goods or services, cases where other vendors
have provided comparable goods or services, cases having a
particular duration, and other criteria. Subsequently, a single
"case score" is calculated by the modeling and initialization
module 114.
[0051] In addition to the case score, the modeling and
initialization module 114 creates one or more data structures for
normalized vendor value data, and one or more data structures for
normalized vendor value contribution data. The structures are
populated with default data. The vendor value data (VVD) and the
vendor value contribution data (VVCD) are used to establish a basis
for quantitative comparison between vendors.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 3, in a vendor value data (VVD) module
116, a "vendor goods and services score" is calculated. In more
detail, vendors provide goods, services, and goods or services to
clients. When a vendor supplies goods or when a vendor performs
services for a service agency client, the client generally will
benefit in some manner from the goods and service provided by the
vendor. That is, the vendor has created some form of value for the
client. Accordingly, in the VCA application 112 embodiment, in the
VVD module 116, a vendor value data (VVD) score represents a
benefit that a client of the service agency receives as a result of
inbound, vendor-provided goods and services. This VVD score is
calculated as described in more detail herein using a particular
set of criteria and weighting. For example, in a service agency,
VVD criteria may include factors such as a severity of disability,
client earnings, and a representation of the complexity of the
service that was provided by the vendor. In some cases, information
from the modeling and initialization module 114 is also used. By
creating such representative values, the VCA application 112 models
desirable characteristics of the inbound vendor provided services.
Based on the model, the VCA application 112 may then quantify the
value created by each vendor that provides goods and services to
the service agency clients. In the embodiment, the quantified value
produces a vendor value data "score" for a particular good or
service, which provides a relative performance metric that can be
used to compare one vendor's performance to a determined metric
value or to the score(s) of one or more other vendors.
[0053] Upon a determination that a vendor has created value for a
client by delivering an inbound good or service, a vendor value
contribution data (VVCD) module 118 calculates a measurement of the
amount of value created. That is, the VVCD module 118 calculates a
vendor value contribution score. The VVCD module 118 takes input
data from the modeling and initialization module 114 and from the
vendor value data module 116. The value created by the vendor for
the particular good or service may be compared against the money
the service agency paid to the vendor to deliver the good or
service.
[0054] The difference between the value received by the client as a
result of the vendor's inbound good or service and the dollars paid
to the vendor by the service agency to deliver the good or service
represents vendor value contribution data (VVCD) score. This VVCD
"score" can be used to contrast how much value a vendor has created
for a client by delivering the good or performing the service
versus how much money the service agency paid the vendor to deliver
the good or service. This VVCD score can represent one metric used
to compare vendors using a common baseline of quantitative
data.
[0055] Data that is calculated or otherwise generated in the VCA
application 112 may be used to optionally generate one or more
vendor value data reports 22. The reports 22 may have vendor
performance data from one vendor or more. The reports 22 may
present data from individual client cases or they may present data
from multiple client cases.
[0056] At module 120 of FIG. 3, an analysis of data produced by the
VCA application 112 may be performed. The analysis may include an
in-person review of reports 22, or the analysis may include
suggestions generated by the VCA application 112.
[0057] FIG. 4 illustrates a set of data structures that may be used
with a VCA application 112 embodiment that is configured in a
vocational rehabilitation (VR) service agency environment. The
particular data structures of FIG. 4 may be configured in memory of
a computing device 100 (FIG. 1), or the data structures may be
configured in an external storage repository such as database
system 14 (FIG. 1).
[0058] Within the non-limiting data structures of FIG. 4,
particular areas of storage are configured and initialized for
processing by the modeling and initialization module 114 (FIG. 3).
A Request Structure 122 is created and populated with a primary
Request_ID that can be used to track individual data related to
particular clients, cases, vendors, and the like. In the Request
Structure 122, particular start and end dates are established, and
a budget value is entered. Other data may also be entered. The data
may be manually entered by a particular user or programmatically
entered using data from another computing system.
[0059] Additional structures may also be created by modeling and
initialization module 114 (FIG. 3). A Case Structure 124 includes
memory space for parameters related to a particular case. A
corresponding Case Driver Structure 138 may be used to integrate
case data into particular scoring algorithms. A Geographic Location
Structure 126 may help localize scoring, cost, wage, or other
values in the VCA application 12.
[0060] A Vendor Structure 128 includes memory space for parameters
related to a particular vendor. A corresponding Vendor Driver
Structure 140 may be used to integrate vendor data into particular
scoring algorithms. Additionally, a Client Driver Structure 142 may
be used to integrate certain client data into particular scoring
algorithms. Other data structures, such as a Goods and Services
Category Structure 130, a Goods and Services Subcategory Structure
132, an Insurance Structure 134, and an Advancement Structure 136
may also be created.
[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates a data flow used in a modeling and
initialization module 114 embodiment to produce a case score. The
data flow in FIG. 5 can be used by any service agency. For each
client to the service agency, the modeling and initialization
module 114 executes the data flow of FIG. 5 to generate a case
score. Accordingly, a growing data pool of case scores can be
available to the service agency. Since each data score represents a
variety of factors related to a certain type of case, and since
vendors supply goods and services for each case, particular data
related to the performance of each vendor in the certain type of
case may be evaluated. In some cases, the case score is generated
as services are provided to each client. In other cases, such as
when a particular vendor is being assessed, a database will be
mined for each of the cases that fit a particular set of criteria,
and a corresponding set of case scores will be generated at that
time.
[0062] At Step 1 in the data flow of FIG. 5, data structures are
populated with case data that will be included in a vendor
contribution assessment (VCA) table. Data may be drawn from a
repository DATABASE.sub.--2, which maintains data related to
individual case requests. One input to the modeling and
initialization module 114 case score calculation data flow of FIG.
5 is a Request_ID that can be used to track additional data and
calculations. Other data relevant to the case score may also be
requested and loaded into the data structures. Certain data
integrity checks may also be conducted.
[0063] At Step 2, a case score is calculated. To create the case
score, a certain number of values are scaled, multiplied,
normalized, and combined. A set of values, (Values 1, 2, . . . N)
are illustrated in FIG. 5 as inputs to the computation of the case
score. Each value is scaled with an associated multiplication
factor, and the product is normalized with an associated percentile
weighting factor. The computed case score is saved in repository
DATABASE.sub.--2 during a "STORE" action, and other values are
updated in a repository DATABASE.sub.--1 in an "UPDATE" action.
[0064] In one non-limiting VR service agency embodiment of a
modeling and initialization module 114, database values are related
to a particular type of job. For example, a plumber is injured, and
the plumber may or may not be able to continue working as a
plumber. A vocational rehabilitation services agency may take the
injured plumber as a client and provide certain services to the
injured plumber. For example, the VR services agency may provide
for medical help, physical or mental therapy, vocational
rehabilitation such as job retraining, skills building, or even
career counseling.
[0065] At some time, the VR service agency desires to measure the
quality of a particular vendor that provides goods or service to
benefit an injured plumber. To measure the quality of the vendor,
the VR service agency has implemented a VCA application 112 having
a modeling and initialization module 114. The modeling and
initialization module 114 includes a computation of the relative
case score based on data from each client who received vendor
services in cases related to an injured worker such as a plumber.
The case score computation may be based on wages, severity of
client's disability, job benefits, and advancement opportunities.
That is, with respect to FIG. 5, VALUE.sub.--1 may be related to an
injured plumber's wages. VALUE.sub.--2 may be related to the
severity of injury to a plumber. VALUE_N-1 may be related to
employer provided job benefits. And VALUE_N may be related to
advancement opportunities available to a plumber.
[0066] In the course of providing services to clients over a period
of time (e.g., many years), a particular work table may be created
for each client that receives goods and services. In this way, a
statistically significant database of case score values may be
generated. For example, in the present embodiment, the VR service
agency may have provided goods and services to many injured
plumbers. Accordingly, the VR service agency may be able to build
(or may already built) many work tables, each having a case score
for a particular injured plumber. Since many vendors will have
provided goods and services to the injured plumbers, the VR service
agency may use the data to assess the value of the goods and
services provided by each individual vendor.
[0067] In the embodiment now described with respect to a VR service
agency, and with respect to the injured plumber, data structures of
the type illustrated in FIG. 4 may be used by the data flow of FIG.
5.
[0068] At Step 1 of the data flow of FIG. 5, a Request_ID is
generated or otherwise input to the modeling and initialization
module 114. The modeling and initialization module 114 identifies
particular procedure calls that can be used to generate a case
score for a plumber having characteristics related to the injured
plumber client.
[0069] For example, in the VR service agency embodiment, several
procedure calls can be made to produce a case score for the
particular injured plumber case. Initial data and interim results
may be stored in a particular case work record table configured as
a data structure. The procedure calls and work record table data
are associated with the Request ID.
[0070] A first procedure call may be used to update earnings value
for the injured plumber. The procedure may generate or otherwise
update data values in the Case Structure 124 memory space and the
Case Driver Structure 138 memory space. Data such as annual wages,
career starting wages, career ending wages, number hours worked per
week, scaling factors for geographic location, and others may be
produced and stored. Additionally, a weighting factor may be
applied such that the earnings value is representative of some
certain percentage (e.g., 33%) of the total case value.
[0071] A second procedure call may be used to update a severity
value for the disability of the particular injured plumber client.
The second procedure may generate or otherwise update data values
in the Case Structure 124 memory space and the Case Driver
Structure 138 memory space. Data such as a percentage loss of
mobility, strength, endurance, and others may be produced and
stored. In some cases, certain industry group factors such as
factors such as age, weight, gender, and the like may be used to
adjust or scale the data. A weighting factor may be applied such
that the severity of disability value is representative of some
certain percentage (e.g., 33%) of the total case value.
[0072] Other procedure calls may also be implemented to generate or
otherwise update data values in the Case Structure 124 memory
space, Case Driver Structure 138 memory space, Insurance 134 memory
space, and Advancement 136 memory space as well as other data
structures. For example, data such as whether the client has
insurance and the value of the insurance may be generated.
Alternatively, or in addition, data related to the advancement
opportunities in the subject employment field may be generated. In
cases where insurance values and opportunity-for-advancement values
are generated, weighting factors may be applied such that the
insurance and opportunity-for-advancement values are representative
of some certain percentages (e.g., 22% and 11% respectively) of the
total case value.
[0073] In a non-limiting example, a particular vendor provides
goods or services to an injured plumber. The vocational
rehabilitation (VR) service agency having the injured plumber as a
client sets out to determine the quality of the goods and services
provided by the vendor. The VR service agency interrogates its
database and finds many cases related to injured workers, such as
plumbers. Some cases are those where the vendor has provided a
certain good or service, and other cases are those where a
different vendor has provided has provided a comparable good or
service. The database yields certain values related that can be
averaged or otherwise combined.
[0074] For example, a first value is representative of earnings of
plumbers. Several thousand cases may be examined, and the earnings
for a plumber may be in the range of $35,000 to $50,000 annually.
The actual earnings value, which may be a composite value derived
from the annual earnings for plumbers in the examined cases, may
then be normalized with respect to certain factors (e.g., the
living wage in the particular geographic area) to take on a value
in the range between 1 and 10. In the present example, the first
value, which represents earnings, is determined to be 8. A
multiplication factor may be used to put the first value into the
range having a maximum value of 100. With respect to the case
score, the earnings value is assigned a weight of 33 percent. Thus,
with respect to FIG. 5, VALUE.sub.--1 is 8,
MULTIPLICATION_VALUE.sub.--1 is 10, and WEIGHT_PCT.sub.--1 is
0.33.
[0075] In the example, a second value is representative of the
severity of injury. The cases in the VR services agency database
are examined and ratings of injury-severity are extracted. In the
example, a composite injury-severity value from the examined cases
is normalized with a multiplication factor into the range having a
maximum value of 100. With respect to the case score calculation of
FIG. 5, the injury severity value is assigned a weight of 33
percent. Thus, in the example, VALUE.sub.--2 is found to be 7,
MULTIPLICATION_VALUE.sub.--2 is 10, and WEIGHT_PCT.sub.--1 is
0.33.
[0076] A third value in the example is representative of employer
supplied benefits. In the example, benefits are either offered or
not offered, so the benefits value is either a zero (0) or a one
(1). In order to normalize the benefits value to a number having a
maximum value of 100, a scaling factor of 100 is used. With respect
to the case score calculation of FIG. 5, the benefit value is
assigned a weight of 22 percent. In the example, VALUE_N-1 is found
to be 0, MULTIPLICATION_VALUE_N-1 is 100, and WEIGHT_PCT_N-1 is
0.22.
[0077] A fourth value in the example is representative of
opportunities for advancement in the plumbing field. The value is
chosen in a range between 0 and 100, and in this example, the
advancement-value is found to be 56. The multiplication factor is
1, and the advancement value is assigned a weight of 11 percent. In
the example, VALUE_N is found to be 56, MULTIPLICATION_VALUE_N is
1, and WEIGHT_PCT_N is 0.11.
[0078] The case score computation of FIG. 5, can be applied to the
example of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) service agency having
a vendor that supplies goods and services to an injured plumber. In
order to determine the quality of the goods and services provided
by the vendor, the VR service agency determines a case score value
according to the data flow of FIG. 5. The case score computation in
the data flow is illustrated in Equation (1).
.SIGMA..sub.N=1.sup.Max(ValueN*Multiplication_Factor_N*Weight_PCT_N)
(1)
wherein Max=4 in one embodiment.
[0079] The case score computation of FIG. 5 produces a case score,
which may be understood as a representation of value from the total
value bucket of successfully closed cases mined from the service
agency database. One measure of a successful case is that a client
is employed for 90 days after receiving service; however, other
measures are also possible. Stated differently, the case score is
derived from a particular set of criteria (e.g., an injured
plumber), and stores an average total representation of the value
of goods and services provided by the service agency for each case
that meets the criteria.
[0080] In addition to determining a case score value, a vendor
contribution assessment (VCA) system will also calculate a vendor
value data (VVD) score. The VVD score is an objective scoring of
the value of goods and services provided by a vendor to a client.
Stated differently, the VVD score is an assignment of value from
each case to the vendors that provided the goods and services for
that particular case. The factors that drive value from a case to a
particular vendor are related to the type of goods and services
provided and the volume of goods and services provided.
[0081] Referring back to FIG. 3, a VVD score is calculated in a
vendor value data (VVD) module 116. The vendor value data module
116 is shown with additional detail in FIG. 6.
[0082] FIG. 6 illustrates a data flow used in a vendor value data
module to produce a vendor score. The data flow in FIG. 6 can be
used by any service agency that receives goods or services from
vendors. For each good or service provided by a vendor, the vendor
value data module 116 executes the data flow of FIG. 6 to generate
a vendor value data (VVD) score. In some cases, the VVD score is
calculated as goods and services are provided by vendors. In other
cases, data is mined from a database when according to certain
criteria when a particular vendor is being assessed.
[0083] At Step 1 in the data flow of FIG. 6, data structures are
populated with case data that will be included in a vendor
contribution assessment (VCA) table. Data may be drawn from a
repository DATABASE.sub.--2, which maintains data related to
individual case requests, or data may be drawn from other sources.
A Request_ID is input to the VVD module 116. The Request_ID may be
input to the modeling and initialization module 114 and passed to
the VVD module 116, or the Request_ID may be entered directly into
the VVD module 116. The Request_ID can be used to track additional
data and calculations. Other data relevant to the case score may
also be requested and loaded into the data structures. Certain data
integrity checks may also be conducted.
[0084] Also at Step 1 of the data flow of FIG. 6, the VVD module
116 identifies particular procedure calls that can be used to
generate a vendor value data (VVD) score for an assessment of a
particular vendor's performance.
[0085] For example, in the VR service agency embodiment, several
procedure calls can be made to produce a VVD score for the goods
and services provided in the particular injured plumber case.
Initial data and interim results may be stored in a particular case
work record table configured as a data structure. The procedure
calls and work record table data are associated with the Request
ID. A first procedure call may be used to calculate a vendor
payment value (e.g., VENDOR_SERVICE_VALUE). A second procedure call
may be used to calculate a vendor service value (e.g.,
VENDOR_PAYMENT_VALUE).
[0086] At Step 2, a vendor value data (VVD) score is calculated. To
create the VVD score, a particular set of inputs are passed to a
computation module. The inputs include the vendor payment value and
the vendor service value. Each value is normalized with an
associated percentile weighting factor. The computed VVD score is
saved in a repository DATABASE.sub.--3 during a "STORE" action, and
other values are updated in a repository DATABASE.sub.--2 in an
"UPDATE" action.
[0087] In a non-limiting VR service agency embodiment of a vendor
value data (VVD) module 116, database values may be further
illustrated according to the injured plumber example previously
introduced. In the injured plumber embodiment now described with
respect to a VR service agency, additional data structures of the
type illustrated in FIG. 4 may be used by the data flow of FIG.
6.
[0088] The first procedure associated with the VVD module 116
calculates the vendor payment value, VENDOR_PAYMENT_VALUE. The
vendor payment value defines a relative value of payments made for
each good and service provide by a particular vendor. The vendor
payment value is generally calculated as a ratio of the sum of all
payments made to vendors for all of the goods and services provided
by the vendors within a case (e.g., Total Case Service Payments)
and the sum of payments to a particular vendor for a particular
good or service in the particular case (e.g., Sum of Case
Payments). By this ratio, the payment for a single good or service
of one vendor is related to all of the payments made to all of the
vendors for all of the goods and services in the case.
[0089] The second procedure associated with the VVD module 116
calculates a vendor good and service value, VENDOR_SERVICE_VALUE.
In the course of vocational rehabilitation, the VR service agency
may contract with vendors for the provision of certain goods and
services. Each good and service is classified in terms of the
relative value added to the case. In one embodiment, certain data
structures of the type illustrated in FIG. 4 (E.g., Goods and
Services Category Structure 130 and Goods and Services SubCategory
Structure 132) are used to store classifications of services.
[0090] In the injured plumber embodiment, values for particular
goods and services provided by vendors have been assigned values
between 1 and 3, but other value assignments could also be made.
For example, with respect to vocational rehabilitation, a
non-limiting set of goods and service offerings are illustrated in
Table 1.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Services provided by a VR vendor. Service
Value Assessment 3 Group assessment 3 Group interpreter services 2
Interpreter services 2 Job coaching 1 Job Placement Assistance 2
Job placement or retention 2 Job search assistance 1
Medical/psychological 1 Rehabilitation/Assistive Technology 3
Devices Rehabilitation/Assistive Technology 3 Services Self
employment 2 Basic remedial or literacy 1 College or university 2
Disability related skills training 3 Job club/search 1
On-the-Job-Training 3 Personal & vocational adjustment 1
Vocational or occupational 3
[0091] In the embodiment of Table 1, a range of vendor service
values are illustrated as having a range between 1 and 3,
inclusive. Other values and ranges may be used, and such values and
ranges may be determined by the service agency. The values and
ranges generally permit different types of goods and services to be
placed in a relative hierarchy according to the perceived value of
the good or service in a particular type of case.
[0092] For example, in Table 1, the "Job placement assistance"
service has an assigned vendor service value of 2, while the "Job
search assistance" service has an assigned vendor service value of
1. In the example, the "Job placement assistance" service has been
determined to provide more value to a case than a "Job search
assistance" service. Accordingly, when calculating a vendor value
contribution data score, particular vendors that provide "Job
placement assistance" services will potentially have a better score
that vendors that provide "Job search assistance" service at least
because of the higher initial vendor service value.
[0093] For each good or service provided by a vendor, the generated
vendor service value data and the vendor payment value data may be
associated and combined in the computational data flow of FIG. 6 to
produce a vendor value data (VVD) score.
[0094] For example, a first vendor payment value is representative
of money paid by the service agency to a vendor for the provision
of a particular good or service. In one VR service agency example,
a vendor is paid $500 for providing an assessment of an injured
plumber. In the entire case, which may last many months, and in
which the injured plumber receives goods and services from the VR
service agency, the VR service agency may pay vendors $57,000 for
the benefit of the injured plumber. In this example, a vendor
payment value may be calculated as a ration between $57,000 and
$500, or 114.
[0095] Also in the example, a value may be drawn from a particular
table (e.g., Table 1) and stored in a vendor service value. In the
VR service agency example, an "Assessment" service may be assigned
the value of "3."
[0096] In the computational data flow of FIG. 6, the vendor payment
value and the vendor service value may be normalized and optionally
scaled to maintain values between a particular range (e.g., between
1 and 10). Further, the relative importance or weight of each
normalized value may also be applied. In the VR service agency
example, a vendor payment value is assigned a 25 percent weighting
and a vendor service value is assigned a 75 percent weighting.
Other weightings may also be applied.
[0097] The vendor value data score computation of FIG. 6, can be
applied to the example of the vocational rehabilitation (VR)
service agency having a vendor that supplies goods and services to
an injured plumber. As part of the computations that are performed
to assess the quality of the goods and services provided by the
vendor, the VR service agency determines a vendor value data score
according to the data flow of FIG. 6. The vendor value data score
computation in the data flow is illustrated in Equation (2).
(Vendor_Payment_Value*Payment_Vendor_Driver_Weight_Pct)+(Vendor_Service_-
Value*Service_Vendor_Driver_Weight_Pct) (2)
[0098] The vendor value data (VVD) score computation of FIG. 6
produces a VVD score, which may be understood as a representation
of value from each case to the vendors that provided services for
that particular case.
[0099] Referring again to FIG. 3, a modeling and initialization
module 114 has determined a particular set of case values for each
case. The case values represent a model of the value of a
particular set of goods and services provided to a client by a
service agency. Also in FIG. 3, a vendor value data module 116 has
determined a particular representation of value paid to a vendor
for individual goods and services in cases according to certain
criteria. Data values from the modeling and initialization module
114 and vendor value data module 116 are provided to a vendor value
contribution data (VVCD) module 118, which calculates a
representation of the amount of value created. That is, the VVCD
module 118 calculates a vendor value contribution score. The VVCD
module 118 takes input data from the modeling and initialization
module 114 and from the vendor value data module 116. The value
created by the vendor for the particular good or service may be
compared against the money the service agency paid to the vendor to
deliver the good or service.
[0100] The difference between the value received by the client as a
result of the vendor's inbound good or service and the dollars paid
to the vendor by the service agency to deliver the good or service
is represented by the vendor value contribution data (VVCD) score.
This VVCD "score" can be used to contrast how much value a vendor
has created for a client by delivering the good or performing the
service versus how much money the service agency paid the vendor to
deliver the good or service. This VVCD score can represent one
metric used to compare vendors using a common baseline of
quantitative data.
[0101] FIG. 7 illustrates a data flow used in the vendor value
contribution data (VVCD) module 118 embodiment to produce a vendor
value contribution score. The vendor value contribution score may
be used by an agency to measure the quality of goods and services
provided by vendors.
[0102] At Step 1, in the data flow of FIG. 7, data is drawn from a
repository DATABASE.sub.--1. The data may be indexed by a
Request_ID or by some other means. The data drawn from the
repository DATABASE.sub.--1 includes results that were generated in
the modeling and initialization module 114. That is, the input at
Step 1 of FIG. 7 includes a plurality of case scores. At Step 1,
the VVCD module 118 computes a sum of all cases that correspond to
the particular Request_ID so as to produce a total case score. A
total case score can be computed in the data flow of FIG. 7 as
illustrated in Equation (3).
.SIGMA..sub.N=1.sup.Max(Case_Score) (3)
wherein Max=# cases of requested criteria.
[0103] At Step 2, a total budget to all cases is distributed. The
distribution is performed by allocating a comprehensive budget
amount of money amongst a proportion formed of an individual case
score to a total case score. A total budget number may be drawn
from a repository DATABASE.sub.--2 based on a particular
Request_ID. A total case score may be input from Step 1. The
distribution of total budget may be performed with a computation
illustrated in Equation (4).
(Total_Budget*(Case_Score/Total_Case_Score)) (4)
[0104] Upon completion of the total budget computations, the
repositories may be updated. Particularly, the budget allocation
data may be stored in DATABASE.sub.--1 and DATABASE.sub.--2.
[0105] At Step 3, case value data is distributed to particular
vendor services. The case value data may be withdrawn from a
repository DATABASE.sub.--1. Alternatively, the case value data may
be held locally in storage space when generated during another part
of a VCA calculation (e.g., Step 1 of the VVCD module 118). That
is, the case data may include the budget allocation data previously
produced. Additional data for the case value distribution
computation includes a vendor service score and a total vendor
service score. The vendor score data is generally computed by the
vendor value data (VVD) module 116.
[0106] The distribution of case value to vendor services performed
at Step 3 of FIG. 7 is illustrated in Equation (5).
(Budget_Allocation_Amount*(Vendor_Service_Value/Total_Vendor_Service_Sco-
re)) (5)
[0107] Upon completion of the case value distribution computations,
the repositories may be updated. Particularly, the case value
distribution data may be stored in the repositories
DATABASE.sub.--2 and DATABASE.sub.--3.
[0108] In Step 4 of the data flow of FIG. 7, the vendor service
contribution data is generated. The vendor service contribution
computations that are performed at Step 4 of the embodiment of FIG.
7 are illustrated in Equation (6).
(Vendor_Service_Total_Payment_Amount-Distributed_Case_Score)
(6)
[0109] In Equation (6), a Distributed Case Score is illustrated as
being subtracted from a Vendor_Service_Total_Payment_Amount. It is
understood that the mathematical combination of a distributed case
score and a total amount of money paid to a vendor is merely one
way of combining the values to produce the vendor service
contribution data. The values may be combined in other ways. For
example, the values may be added, multiplied, divided, scaled,
normalized, or combined in some other way. The mathematical
combination provides a mechanism whereby one measure of value that
is paid to the vendor is combined with one measure of value that is
provided to a client. In embodiments of the VCA system any one of
many different combinations will allow an apples-to-apple
comparison of vendors as long as the same mathematical combination
is performed in the assessment of each vendor.
[0110] Vendor value contribution data may be calculated for each
vendor that provides goods or services to the service agency.
Alternatively or in addition, vendor value contribution data may be
calculated for each good or service provided by one or more
vendors. The particular value contributions may be used to compare
the cost of services provided against the value of the benefit
provided to a client of the services agency. Additionally or
alternatively, the particular value contributions may be used to
compare the quality of one vendor against other vendors, which
comparison can provide the services agency with sufficient data to
continue contracting with a particular vendor, expand contracting
with a particular vendor, or reduce (or completely stop)
contracting with a particular vendor.
[0111] As described in Steps 1-4 of the VVCD module 118, an
embodiment of the vendor contribution assessment (VCA) system
calculates a vendor value contribution data (VVCD) score. The VVCD
score is an objective scoring of the value of goods and services
provided by a vendor to a client. Stated differently, the VVCD
score is an assignment of value from each case to the vendors that
provided the goods and services for that particular case. The
factors that drive value from a case to a particular vendor are
related to the type of goods and services provided and the volume
of goods and services provided.
[0112] With reference to FIG. 3, the vendor value contribution data
(VVCD) module 118 can be further described. In a non-limiting VR
service agency embodiment of a VVCD module 118, computations may be
further illustrated in accordance with the injured plumber example
discussed herein. The particular discussion may include procedures
that execute the computations of the data flow of FIG. 7.
[0113] A first procedure associated with the VVCD module 118
distributes case score data from the VVCD module 118. A VVD score
may be understood as a representation of value provided by a vendor
in a particular case. With respect to the goods and services
provided to the injured plumber, a VVD score is generated to
represent the value of goods and services provided to injured
plumber. For other cases wherein vendors provided the same goods or
services, a VVD score is also generated. The first procedure
receives as an input the VVD score for each case within a certain
time period that has delivered the particular good or service. The
VVD scores are summed in the first procedure. Additionally, the
total budget for all VR cases is retrieved and used as a multiplier
to the ratio between the VVD score of a certain case and the
combined VVD score of all cases having similar goods and services
criteria. The resulting case budget allocation amount is stored for
later evaluation.
[0114] In a second procedure associated with the VVCD module 118,
the case budget allocation amount is retrieved and used to generate
a distributed case score. That is, in the second procedure of the
VVCD module 118, a case score is distributed to each vendor service
within a case. A particular vendor service score is divided by the
sum of vendor service scores and multiplied by the input case
budget allocation amount. The resulting product is a distributed
case score value. i.e., a projected, calculated value of the goods
and services provided by the vendor for the particular case. In the
case of the injured plumber, the calculated value of the goods and
services provided to the plumber is determined. The calculated
value will subsequently be correlated with the actual value for the
goods and services paid by the services agency. If the agency has
paid more for the actual goods and services than calculated, then
the quality of the services agency is perceived to be reduced.
Alternatively, if the agency has paid less for the actual goods and
services than calculated, then the quality of the services agency
is perceived to be increased. Accordingly, the second procedure
determines a vendor value contribution data (VVCD) score by
mathematically combining (e.g., subtracting) the actual cost paid
for a particular good or service by the services agency from
distributed case score value.
[0115] An embodiment of a vendor contribution assessment (VCA)
system 10 (FIG. 1) may be further understood with a comprehensive
example provided by way of a flowchart diagram.
[0116] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system 800 according to one embodiment. The
non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 8 is particular to a vocational
rehabilitation service agency. The process begins at 802 wherein a
request for a VCA calculation is made. A particular Request_ID is
passed with the initial request for the VCA calculation. The
Request_ID may be correlated to a specific case, and the Request_ID
may be further correlated to a specific good or service provided by
a certain vendor in the specific case.
[0117] At 804, the Request_ID is validated. An error check may
abort the processing of the VCA system if the Request_ID is not
associated with a known case or vendor provided good or service. At
806, certain case parameters are determined. The case parameters
are associated with the case identified by the Request_ID. For
example, a start date and an end date for the case are
identified.
[0118] At 808, additional data integrity checks are performed. Any
or all of the data integrity checks may be optional. In some cases,
when a data integrity check fails, default data is used so that the
VCA system processing may continue. In other cases, the processing
of the VCA system may be aborted. The data integrity checks may
include checks according to Table 2.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Data Integrity Checks. Check Value Require
at least one service category or service subcategory >0 lookup
record. Ensure at least one case record with all values present.
>0 Ensure at least one vendor record with all values present. 1
Ensure at least one earnings record with all values present. 1
Ensure at least one client disability record with all values 1
present. Ensure all County lookup records contain an annual living
1 wage amount. Ensure at least one employment opportunity lookup
table >0 record with an advancement opportunity. Ensure case
driver table contains a record with an "earnings" Text entry.
Ensure case driver table contains a record with a "severity" 1 . .
. 3 entry. Ensure case driver table contains a record with an 1 . .
. 4 "advancement" entry. Ensure case driver table contains a record
with a "benefits" 0 . . . 1 entry. Ensure that there are no client
earning values that exceed Test maximum. Ensure that there are no
client disability severity values that Test exceed maximum. Ensure
that there are no client advancement values that Test exceed
maximum. Ensure that there are no client benefit values that exceed
Test maximum. Ensure that sum of case driver weight percentages is
100% 1 Ensure that sum of vendor driver weight percentages is 1
100% Ensure the case driver maximum * case driver multiplication 1
factor = the case driver maximum normalized value for each record
in the case driver table. Ensure the vendor driver maximum * vendor
driver 1 multiplication factor = the vendor driver maximum
normalized value for each record in the vendor driver table. Ensure
starting wage % <= ending wage % 1 Ensure starting wage %-ending
wage % do not overlap 1 Ensure client disability starting and
ending counts are within 1 range Ensure client disability starting
count-ending count do not 1 overlap
[0119] At 810, case record data structures are populated.
[0120] At 812, the first step of calculating a VCA case score is
performed. For example, wage and earnings data for the client and
the geographic location may be determined, including starting and
ending wages for certain periods of time. At 814, an optional
disability calculation step is performed, and at 816, a
determination of whether or not an employer provides benefits is
calculated. At 818, a determination of the advancement
opportunities that may be available to the client is determined.
Using data generated in previous steps, a case score is calculated
at 820. The case score may be determined according to equations
presented herein with respect to FIGS. 3-5.
[0121] At 822, a vendor service work table is populated. The work
table may contain goods and services categories related to the
particular service agency. In a VR service agency, one non-limiting
set of goods and services data types is presented in Table 1. At
824 and 826 respectively, vendor payment values and vendor service
values are updated. The particular updates may be performed in
accordance with FIG. 6. At 828, a vendor service score is
calculated. The vendor service score (e.g., vendor value data score
(VVD)) represents a benefit that a client of the service agency
receives as a result of inbound, vendor-provided goods and
services.
[0122] At 830, a procedure to calculate a vendor contribution score
begins. The processing to generate the vendor contribution score
may include processing as illustrated in FIG. 7. Particularly, at
830, the service agency budget is distributed for each case as a
representative of the case score relative to the sum total of all
case scores. At 832, the distributed budget amount is further
distributed across a ratio of a vendor's service score to the
vendor's total score so as to produce a vendor's distributed case
score, and at 834, a vendor's service contribution score is
calculated. The contribution score is calculated by mathematically
combining (e.g., subtracting) a total amount of money paid by the
service agency to a vendor from the vendor's distributed case
score. This vendor's service contribution score can subsequently be
used to measure value that a vendor has created for a client by
delivering the good or performing the service against the amount of
money the paid by the service agency paid to the vendor for the
delivery of the good or service.
[0123] At 836, the vendor's service contribution score can be used
to create a ranking score whereby vendor's that provide
corresponding goods or services can be compared to each other. The
comparison takes into account the value of the services provided
and the amount of money paid to the vendor for the provision of the
goods or services. At 838, the vendor ranking is calculated as a
percentage.
[0124] At 840, in some embodiments, particular reports that include
the generated data presented in one or more particular formats may
be produced. Also at 840, the vendor contribution assessment (VCA)
system 800 ends processing.
[0125] Another embodiment of a vendor contribution assessment (VCA)
system 10 (FIG. 1) may be further understood with a conceptual
example provided by way of a block diagram that relates how money
flows through a services agency. The tracking of money through the
services agency is further correlated with value received from
goods and services provided by vendors. Finally, the determination
of a quantified score by which vendors may be compared to each
other is presented.
[0126] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a vendor contribution
assessment (VCA) system 900 according to one embodiment.
[0127] At 902, a service agency is organized. The service agency
may include any type of service agency. A non-limiting list of
service agencies includes local, state, or federal agencies,
mid-size and large commercial agencies (e.g., home builders,
airplane manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, human resources
or other organizations within commercial entities, franchises,
retailers, software development companies, and the like),
non-profit agencies, International goods or services providers, and
many others.
[0128] The service agency at 902 receives a financial income
investment. The financial income investment represents income to
the agency. Some percentage of the agency's income is distributed
to goods and services providers. The number of goods and services
providers is large (e.g., more than 250 in some cases; more than
2500 in other cases). The number of contracts for goods and
services provided is also large (e.g., more than 2,500 in some
cases; more than 25,000 in some cases).
[0129] The service agency at 902 has a desire to measure the
effectiveness of vendors that the agency pays to provide goods and
services. Accordingly, the service agency keeps track of money that
is paid to each vendor. Additionally, the service agency keeps
track how much money is paid for each quantifiable good and
service. In order to measure the effectiveness of each vendor, the
service agency will also keep track of the actual activity outcomes
for the goods and services contracted. Subsequently, the actual
activity outcomes will be compared to the desired outcomes.
[0130] In the transition between 902 and 904, the vendor provides
the contracted good or performs the contracted service. There is a
value to the end user (e.g., client) of the goods and services
provided by the vendor. In some cases, for example where the
service agency is a municipal agency, the end user is a client of
the agency. In one embodiment discussed herein, the agency is a
vocational rehabilitation agency that provides employment services
to outside clients. In another embodiment, the agency is a
commercial entity and the client is a human resources department
within the commercial entity. Accordingly, an end user or client of
the service agency may be an entity within the service agency, or
the end user may be an entity or client that is outside of the
agency.
[0131] At 904, the vendor (e.g., provider, partner, or the like)
completes the providing of the good or service. The value actually
provided by each vendor for each good or service is calculated. The
calculation of value on a per vendor basis, for each good or
service provided, may be normalized relative to the amount of money
that the vendor receives for the individual good or service and
further quantified relative to all of the money that the service
agency spends for goods and services. The representations of value
for each good or service, on a per vendor basis in calculated in
the transition between 904 and 906.
[0132] At 906, actual payments to each vendor, for each good and
service, is correlated with the calculation of value for the good
and service. The sum of all activity value for each vendor is
calculated and so divided as to determine the value cost for the
good and service that the vendor actually provided. The amount of
money paid by the service provider for each good and service is
mathematically combined (e.g., subtracted) the actual calculated
cost of the good or service. In this manner, the contribution of
each vendor for each good and service provided may be calculated.
The calculated contribution has been quantified such that the
effectiveness (e.g., cost to provide a certain good or service) of
one vendor may be fairly compared to the effectiveness other
vendors. At 906, the calculated vendor contribution scores may be
reported in many ways.
[0133] For example, at 906, the percentile ranking of effectiveness
of each vendor may be reported in such a way that the vendors are
ranked. In some cases, vendors provide more value than the vendors
are paid for. In such cases, the vendor is able to provide better,
more efficient, lower cost, or some other higher value than other
vendors when providing a comparable good or service. In other
cases, it may be learned that some vendors are very inefficient in
providing goods and services (e.g., the goods or services are very
expensive or take a very long time, which reduces the value of the
goods or services as provided to the client).
[0134] At 908 to 918, an even more simplified block diagram of a
vendor contribution assessment (VCA) system 900 according to one
embodiment is provided. At 908, investment income is input into the
service agency. The income is paid in some proportion to various
vendors for goods and services. In return, the vendors provide
goods and services as activity value at 910. At 912, the actual
vendor value for the goods and services is calculated relative to
the amount of money paid for such goods and services. At 914, the
amount of money paid to the vendor for the goods and services
provided is recognized and associated with the actual goods and
services provided. At 916, the contribution of value of each
vendor, for each good and service provided, is calculated and
quantified. The value for any particular good, in any particular
time frame or quantity, can be normalized so that when multiple
vendors provide the same or equivalent good, the vendor score
calculations can be evenly compared. Similarly, the provision of
services can be quantified and normalized for fair comparison
between vendors. At 918, the vendor contributions are converted to
a score such that the performance of any one vendor may be compared
to one or more other vendors.
[0135] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the
specification and claims, the word "comprise" and variations
thereof, such as, "comprises" and "comprising" are to be construed
in an open, inclusive sense; that is, as "including, but not
limited to."
[0136] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment"
or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is
included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the
phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places
throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to
the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,
structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable
manner in one or more embodiments.
[0137] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the
singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless
the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted
that the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including
"and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
[0138] The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein
are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning
of the embodiments.
[0139] The above description of illustrated embodiments, including
what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed.
Although specific embodiments of and examples are described herein
for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications can be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure,
as will be recognized by those skilled in the relevant art. The
teachings provided herein of the various embodiments can be applied
to other systems, not necessarily the exemplary subject based
communication facilitation server computing system generally
described above.
[0140] For instance, the foregoing detailed description has set
forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the
use of block diagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such
block diagrams, schematics, and examples contain one or more
functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those skilled
in the art that each function and/or operation within such block
diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually
and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,
firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,
the present subject matter may be implemented via Application
Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). However, those skilled in the
art will recognize that the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole
or in part, can be equivalently implemented in standard integrated
circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more
computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more
computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more
controllers (e.g., microcontrollers) as one or more programs
running on one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), as
firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that
designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software
and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of ordinary
skill in the art in light of this disclosure.
[0141] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
the mechanisms taught herein are capable of being distributed as a
program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative
embodiment applies equally regardless of the particular type of
signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution.
Examples of signal bearing media include, but are not limited to,
the following: recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard
disk drives, CD ROMs, digital tape, and computer memory; and
transmission type media such as digital and analog communication
links using TDM or IP based communication links (e.g., packet
links).
[0142] The various embodiments described above can be combined to
provide further embodiments. To the extent that they are not
inconsistent with the specific teachings and definitions herein,
all of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S.
patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications
and non-patent publications referred to in this specification
and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein
by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be
modified, if necessary, to employ systems, circuits and concepts of
the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet
further embodiments.
[0143] These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in
light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the
following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit
the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the
specification and the claims, but should be construed to include
all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents
to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not
limited by the disclosure.
* * * * *